Computer integrated manufacturing techniques

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a novel distributed factory system framework including a novel factory automation lifecycle ( 200 ) having lifecycle activities for SW developing and integrating ( 210 ), installing and administrating ( 220 ), factory modeling ( 230 ), manufacturing planning ( 240 ), manufacturing controlling, monitoring and tracking ( 250 ) and analyzing of manufacturing results ( 260 ). The factory lifecycle comprises framework components. The distributed factory system framework also includes application components and building blocks. The framework components are adapted to for managing the application components, while the application components are utilized to provide instructions for managing a process such as a wafer fab. The building blocks are adapted for forming or modifying framework and application components. The distributed factory system framework provides computer implemented methods for integrating processing systems and facilitates process and equipment changes.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. Application No.09/363,966, filed Jul. 29, 1999, which is incorporated herein byreference.

GOVERNMENT RIGHTS IN THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention was made with United States Government supportunder Cooperative Agreement No. 70NANB7H3043 awarded by NST. The UnitedStates Government has certain rights in the invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to techniques for computerintegrated manufacturing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] A semiconductor device such as an IC (integrated circuit)generally has electronic circuit elements such as transistors, diodesand resistors fabricated integrally on a single body of semiconductormaterial. The various circuit elements are connected through conductiveconnectors to form a complete circuit which can contain millions ofindividual circuit elements. Integrated circuits are typicallyfabricated from semiconductor wafers in 20 a process consisting of asequence of processing steps. This process, usually referred to as waferfabrication or wafer fab, includes such operations as oxidation, etchmask preparation, etching, material deposition, planarization andcleaning.

[0005] A summary of an aluminum gate PMOS (p-channel metal oxidesemiconductor transistor) wafer fab process 40 is schematically shown inFIG. 1, illustrating major processing steps 41 through 73, as describedin W. R. Runyan et al., Semiconductor Integrated Circuit ProcessingTechnology, Addison-Wesley Publ. Comp. Inc., p.48, 1994. Each of thesemajor processing steps typically include several sub steps. For example,a major processing step such as metallization to provide an aluminumlayer by means of 30 sputter deposition in a wafer fab chamber isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,570 (R. C. Wang, 1992). This sputterdeposition process is schematically shown in sub steps 81 through 97 ofprocess 80, see FIG. 2.

[0006]FIGS. 1 and 2 show sequential wafer fab processes. It is alsoknown to utilize wafer fab sub systems which provide parallel processingsteps. Such sub systems typically include one or more cluster tools. Acluster tool as defined herein includes a system of chambers and waferhandling equipment wherein wafers are processed in the cluster toolchambers without leaving a controlled cluster tool environment such asvacuum. An example of a cluster tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,236,868 (J. Nulman, 1993) which employs a vacuum apparatus having acentral chamber and four processing chambers. A wafer handling robot inthe central chamber has access to the interior of each the processingchambers in order to transfer wafers from the central chamber into eachof the chambers while keeping the wafers in a vacuum environment. In oneexample, wafers in the '868 cluster are first transferred for processingto a cleaning chamber, then to a PVD (physical vapor deposition)chamber, followed by transfer to an annealing chamber and subsequentlyto a degassing chamber, thus utilizing a sequential process. It is alsoknown to use cluster tools such as those disclosed in the '868 patent toprocess wafers in 15 chambers which are used in parallel. For example,if a slow processing step is followed by a fast processing step, threechambers can be used in parallel for the slow process while the fourthchamber is used for the fast process.

[0007] Effective wafer inventory management is necessary for maintaininginventories of unprocessed or partly processed wafers at a minimum andthereby minimizing the unit cost of the semiconductor devices which areproduced in the wafer fab. Minimizing inventories of wafers in processalso has a wafer yield benefit because it is well known that the longerwafers are in the process, the lower their yield. Wafer inventorymanagement typically uses scheduling techniques to maximize equipmentcapabilities in view of the demand for processed wafers, for example byscheduling parallel and series processing steps to avoid processingbottlenecks. It is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art thatin-process wafer inventory management is facilitated by in-process wafertracking, such as tracking wafer lots and wafer cassettes throughout awafer fab. Effective inventory management of a wafer fab also requires alow incidence of bottlenecks or interruptions due to unscheduled downtimes which can for example be caused by unscheduled maintenance,interruptions resulting from processing parameters which are outsidetheir specified limits, unavailability of required materials such as aprocess gas, unavailability of necessary maintenance replacement partsor unavailability of a processing tool such as a chamber.

[0008] Many components or sub-systems of a wafer fab are automated inorder to achieve a high degree of processing reliability andreproducibility and to maximize yields. Wafer fab tools such as chambersare typically controlled by a computer using a set of instructions whichare generally known as a recipe for operating the process which isexecuted by the tool. However, it is recognized that a high degree ofautomation wherein various processes and metrologics are integrated, isdifficult to achieve due to the complexity and inter dependency of manyof the wafer fab processes, see for example Peter van Zandt, MicrochipFabrication, 3^(rd) ed., McGraw-Hill, pp. 472-478, 1997. Manufacturingsystems such as a wafer fab are known to utilize software which providesan MES (manufacturing executions systems) function. Desirably, a waferfab MES should be integrated for an entire wafer fab in order to achievecentralized wafer fab management and control. However, it is well knownto those of ordinary skill in the art that a a commercial wafer fabtypically includes semiconductor processing tools from differentequipment manufacturers, resulting in tool compatibility difficultieswhen attempts are made to develop an integrated MES. Another shortcomingof currently available wafer fab MES is the need for extensive softwareprogramming for each process change in the wafer fab, such as isnecessary for changing a recipe, adding or replacing a tool, or changingthe wafer fab to make a different wafer product.

[0009] It is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that thefunctions of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including forexample a wafer fab, can be defined in basic equipment states such asthe six states schematically illustrated in FIG. 3, see SEMI E10-96Standard For Definition And Measurement Of Equipment Reliability,Availability And Maintainability (RAM), published by SemiconductorEquipment and Materials International (SEMI), pp. 1-23, 1996. Thesemiconductor industry typically uses these six equipment states tomeasure and express equipment RAM (reliability availability andmaintainability), based on functional equipment issues which areindependent of who performs the function. These six basic equipmentstates include non-scheduled time (FIG. 3), unscheduled downtime 104,scheduled downtime 106, engineering time 108, standby time 110 andproductive time 112. Non-scheduled time 102 represents the time periodwherein the equipment is not scheduled to be used, for example unworkedshift. Unscheduled downtime 104 concerns time periods wherein theequipment is not in a condition to perform its intended function, e.g.during equipment repair. Scheduled downtime 106 occurs when theequipment is capable of performing its function but is not available todo this, such as process setup or preventive maintenance. Engineeringtime 108 concerns the time period wherein the equipment is operated toconduct engineering tests, for example equipment evaluation. Standbytime 110 is a time period wherein the equipment is not operated eventhough it is in a condition to perform its intended function and iscapable of performing its function, for example no operator is availableor there is no input from the relevant information systems. Productivestate 112 represents the time period wherein the equipment is performingits intended function, such as regular production and rework.

[0010] Total time period 114, see FIG. 3, is the total time during theperiod being measured; this includes the six equipment states 102, 104,106, 108, 110 and 112. Operations time 116 concerns the total timeperiod of states 104, 106, 108, 110 and 112. Operations time 116includes equipment downtime 118 consisting of states 104 and 106, andequipment uptime 120. Equipment uptime 120 includes engineering time 108and manufacturing time 122 which consists of standby time 110 andproductive time 112.

[0011]FIGS. 4 and 5 provide more detailed schematic illustrations of thesix equipment states shown in FIG. 3, see SEMI E10-96, at pp. 1-6. Asdepicted in FIG. 4, total time 114 consists of non-scheduled time 102and operations time 116. Non-scheduled time 102 includes unworked shifts130, equipment installation, modification, rebuilding or upgrading 132,off-line training 134 and shutdown or start-up time period 136.Operations time 116, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 5, consists ofequipment downtime 118 and equipment uptime 120. Equipment downtime 118consists of unscheduled downtime 104 and scheduled downtime 106.Unscheduled downtime 104 includes downtime for maintenance delay 140,repair time 142, changing consumables/chemicals 144, out ofspecification input 146 or facilities related downtime 148. Scheduleddowntime 106 30 concerns downtime for maintenance delay 150, productiontest 152, preventive maintenance 154, changing consumables/chemicals156, setup 158 or facilities related 159.

[0012] Equipment uptime 120, depicted in FIG. 5, consists of engineeringtime 108 and manufacturing time 122. Engineering time 108 includesprocess experiments 160 and equipment experiments 162. Manufacturingtime 110 consists of standby time 110 and productive time 112. Standbytime 110 includes time during which there is no operator 180, no product182, no support tool 184 or when an associated cluster module is down186. Productive time 112 concerns a time period during which there isregular production 190, work for a third party 192, rework 194 or anengineering run 196. The various equipment states as described inconnection with FIGS. 3-5 provide a basis for communicating andevaluating RAM related equipment information in the semiconductorindustry. RAM related equipment information includes topics which arewell known to those of ordinary skill in the art such as: equipmentreliability, equipment availability, equipment maintainability andequipment utilization, see for example SEMI E10-96 at pp. 6-11.Generally, MES functions can be employed to keep track of informationregarding equipment states in manufacturing systems such as a wafer fab.

[0013] Advances in semiconductor materials, processing and testtechniques have resulted in reducing the overall size of the IC circuitelements, while increasing their number on a single body. This requiresa high degree of product and process control for each processing stepand for combinations or sequences of processing steps. It is thusnecessary to control impurities and particulate contamination in theprocessing materials such as process gases. Also, it is necessary tocontrol processing parameters such as temperature, pressure, gas flowrates, processing time intervals and input sputter power. As illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2, a wafer fab includes a complex sequence of processingsteps wherein the result of any particular processing step typically ishighly dependent on one or more preceding processing steps. For example,if there is an error in the overlay or alignment of etch masks forinterconnects in adjacent IC layers, the resulting interconnects are notin their proper design location. This can result in interconnects whichare packed too closely, forming electrical short defects between theseinterconnects. It is also well known that two different processingproblems can have a cumulative effect. For example, a misalignment ofinterconnect etch masks which is not extensive enough to result in anelectrical short, can still contribute to causing an electrical short ifthe process is slightly out of specification for allowing (or notdetecting) particulate contamination having a particle size which wouldnot have caused an electrical short if the interconnect masks had beenin good alignment.

[0014] Processing and/or materials defects such as described abovegenerally cause a reduced wafer fab yield, wherein the yield is definedas the percentage of acceptable wafers that are produced in a particularfab. In-process tests and monitoring of processing parameters areutilized to determine whether a given in-process product or processproblem or defect indicates that intervention in the process run isnecessary, such as making a processing adjustment or aborting the run.Consequently, product and process control techniques are usedextensively throughout a wafer fab. When possible, yield to problems aretraced back to specific product or processing problems or defects toultimately improve the yield of the wafer fab. High yields are desirablefor minimizing manufacturing costs for each processed wafer and tomaximize the utilization of resources such as electrical power,chemicals and water, while minimizing scrap re-work or disposal.

[0015] It is known to use SPC (statistical process control) and SQC(statistical quality control) methods to determine suitable wafer fabcontrol limits and to maintain the process within these limits, see forexample R. Zonch, Handbook Of Quality Integrated Circuit Manufacturing,Academic Press Inc., pp. 464-498, 1991. SPC and SQC methodologiessuitable for a wafer fab include the use of control charts, see forexample R. Zorich at pp. 475-498. As is well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art, a control chart is a graphical display of one or moreselected process or product variables, such as chamber pressure, whichare sampled over time. The target value of a particular variable and itsupper and lower control limits are designated on the chart, using wellknown statistical sampling and computation methods. The process isdeemed out of control when the observed value of the variable, or astatistically derived value such as the average of several observedvalues, is outside the previously determined control limits. Controllimits are typically set at a multiple of the standard deviation of themean of the target value, such as for example 2σ or 3 σ. The targetvalue is derived from a test run or a production run which meets suchwafer fab design criteria as yield, process control and product quality.SPC and SQC are considered synonymous when used in the above context,see R. Zorich at p. 464.

[0016] Accordingly, a need exists for methods and techniques whichprovide improved computer implemented integration of semiconductormanufacturing techniques in order to optimize process control, quality,yield and cost reduction. Also, there is a need for centralized waferfab management and control through a computer integrated manufacturingsystem which facilitates processing or equipment changes withoutextensive software programming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0017] The present invention provides novel techniques for computerintegrated manufacturing, particularly for manufacturing integratedcircuit structures such as semiconductor wafers. These novel techniquesprovide the needed improvements in computer integration.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention a novel factoryautomation lifecycle is provided which includes SW for lifecycleactivities for developing and integrating, installing andadministrating, factory modeling, manufacturing planning, manufacturingcontrolling, monitoring and tracking, and lifecycle activities foranalyzing manufacturing results. Output from an analyzing manufacturingresults lifecycle activity can provide an input to other lifecycleactivities, such as the factory modeling lifecycle activity. Frameworkcomponents are associated with various lifecycle activities.

[0019] In another embodiment of the present invention a novel method formanaging a processing system is provided which includes utilizingframework software components, application software components andsoftware building blocks. The application components provideinstructions for managing the system while the framework components areemployed to manage the application components. The building blocks areadapted for forming or modifying framework and application components. Afactory automation lifecycle includes the framework components. A noveltool integration component is employed by the novel method tocommunicate instructions to processing tools of the system. The toolintegration component comprises a tool interface program and a toolintegration component adapter. Instructions for managing the system canbe modified by inputting data.

[0020] In still another embodiment of the present invention a novelmethod for processing a product includes determining the specificationsfor processing the product and then managing the process by means of anovel distributed factory system framework which includes frameworkcomponents, application components and SW building blocks. The noveldistributed factory system can be modified, if necessary, by inputtingdata. Computer implemented instructions for managing are formed byapplication components. These instructions are communicated to theprocess for manufacturing a product, for example by utilizing a toolintegration component. The instructions are then implemented in theprocess, for example for fabricating integrated circuit structures.

[0021] In yet another embodiment of the present invention a novel methodfor starting a wafer fab run includes determining the sequence ofprocessing steps and subsequently forming a workflow defining thissequence in a visual, workflow component. The visual workflow componentis included in a novel distributed factory system framework comprisingframework components and application components. A request is then madeto the visual workflow component to start the run by means of a work inprogress management component or a GUI.

[0022] In another embodiment of the present invention an apparatus isprovided including product processing equipment, a central processingunit, a link for operably linking the processing equipment to thecentral processing unit, a memory for storing digitally coded datastructures, and data structures comprising a novel factory automationlifecycle. The present embodiment also provides for data structuresincluding application components and building block components.

[0023] In still another embodiment of the present invention adistributed factory system framework is provided for managing aprocessing system, including a digitally coded first data structurecomprising framework components, a second data structure includingapplication components and a link for communicating digitally codedinstructions to the processing system.

[0024] In yet another embodiment of the present invention a novelapparatus is provided comprising processing equipment and a noveldistributed factory system framework for managing a processing system.

[0025] In additional embodiments of the present invention, novel datastorage devices arc provided comprising data structures such as novelfactory automation lifecycle activity data structures, frameworkcomponent data structures, application component data structures andbuilding block data structures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026]FIG. 1 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a prior art waferfab process.

[0027]FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a prior art waferfab sputter metallization process.

[0028]FIG. 3 is a stack chart schematically illustrating prior artequipment time states.

[0029]FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing prior artequipment time states of the stack chart illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0030]FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing prior artequipment time states of the stack chart illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0031]FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a factoryautomation lifecycle of the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating interactions betweenframework components of the present invention.

[0033]FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically illustrating componentservers of the present invention.

[0034]FIG. 9 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a toolintegration component of the present invention.

[0035]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sequence of messagesfrom a visual workflow component to a tool interface program of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] While describing the invention and its embodiments, certainterminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity. It is intendedthat such terminology includes the recited embodiments as well as allequivalents.

[0037] In one embodiment of the invention a DFS/F (distributed factorysystem framework) SW (software) environment is provided to automate,integrate and coordinate factory MES (manufacturing execution system(s))comprising equipment steps, decision steps and data steps which can bepresent in a processing, manufacturing or fabricating system or facilitysuch as a wafer fab for processing or fabricating semiconductorstructures, such as IC (integrated circuit) structures. The expression“FW” (framework) as defined herein, includes a collection of linked SWstructures, components or classes that provide a functionality or a setof services. The expression “MES” as defined herein, includes acollection of SW data structures for starting processing related tasks,managing and/or controlling work in progress and facilitating the use ofresources, such as materials, equipment, information and historical datafor the execution of processing/manufacturing/fabrication tasks,optionally including testing and data gathering tasks. The expression“IC structures” as defined herein, includes completely formed ICs andpartially formed ICs.

[0038] DFS/F of the present invention includes a novel FALL (factoryautomation lifecycle) 200, shown in FIG. 6, to form an overall structurefor integrated factory automation MES. FALC 200 is adapted forintegrating, automating, managing or controlling various manufacturingrelated aspects of a processing, manufacturing or fabricating system orfacility, thereby forming a factory model. These aspects can includewafer fab related equipment, such as wafer fab tools, methods such aswafer fab processing procedures, materials such as wafer fab processgases, inventory control, such as in-process wafer inventory control,work in process status determinations, evaluating in-process test data,monitoring equipment functions and quality management features, such asSPC (statistical process control). The novel lifecycle additionallyfacilitates the integration of tools, equipment or software fromdifferent tool, equipment or software suppliers to provide a coordinatedmanufacturing or fabricating facility wherein several tools areintegrated.

[0039] Novel FALC 200, depicted in FIG. 6, includes an SW developing andintegrating lifecycle activity 210, an installing and administratinglifecycle activity 220, a factory modeling lifecycle activity 230, amanufacturing planning lifecycle activity 240, a manufacturingcontrolling, monitoring and tracking, lifecycle activity 250 and ananalyzing of manufacturing results lifecycle activity 260. Asschematically shown in FIG. 6, selected output from analyzing ofmanufacturing results lifecycle activity 260 can provide feedback toother lifecycle activities of the lifecycle, such as SW developing andintegrating lifecycle activity 210, factory modeling lifecycle activity230 and manufacturing planning lifecycle activity 240. The output andinput interactions between to these lifecycle activities will bedescribed in more detail in connection with the description of lifecycleactivity 260 for analyzing the manufacturing results.

[0040] The various lifecycle activities of FALC 200 of the presentinvention comprise SW. Hardware parts, equipment or assemblies areneeded to support, operate or utilize the SW, which provides thefunctionality of the six lifecycle activities of FALC 200. The FALL 200software includes FW SW components. The FW components define commonsystem or factory operation rules and services and they are employed toprovide services to application SW components which manage/controlprocessing functions or systems, for example factories includingfabricating facilities and various combinations of wafer fab tools,through interaction with the control system of processing equipment,such as on-board wafer fab tool controllers. Application components areadapted to meet the specific requirements of the process and theprocessing equipment, such as a wafer fab recipe. In other words, repeatprocessing runs of the same type of product in the same equipment usingthe same processing conditions does not require a modification in theapplication components. However, a change in materials, products,equipment or processing conditions typically requires modification ofthe data of one or more application components. For example, a change ina processing condition requires a corresponding change in one or moreapplication components in order to provide the changed instructions tothe equipment. FW components provide the services which enable a user tomodify one or more application components to match novel DFS/F to a newprocessing condition or to a different material or tool. A novel FALC,such as FALC 200, can be adapted to new processing conditions, materialsor equipment through data input, provided the adaptation does notrequire a change to a processing system which is substantiallydifferent. For example, the SW code of several application components ofa wafer fab FALC is different from the SW code of the correspondingcomponents of a FALC for a batch manufacturing process of apharmaceutical product. Application components of the novel DFS/Fcommunicate with equipment such as individual wafer fab tools throughprotocols and interfaces as will be described more fully in connectionwith TIC (tool integration component).

[0041] FW and application SW elements are referred to as componentsbecause they are separate SW entities, each with its own database,server, and standard GUI. The 10 components inter-operate through apublic set of communication standards such as DOOM (MICROSOFT®—Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond,Wash.—distribute common object model) APIs (application programminginterface) or CORBA (common object request broker architecture). SWcommon building blocks are provided in DFS/F to facilitate the creationof new FW and application components and to modify existing FW andapplication components. These building blocks typically include GUI(graphical user interface), server and DB (database) elements.Typically, DFS/F and FALC 200 components and SW building blocks areprocessed by one or more central processing units for data processing orone or more computers. Central processing units and computers which aresuitable for the embodiments of the present invention are well known tothose of ordinary skill in the art.

[0042] The six lifecycle activities of FALL 200, see FIG. 6, include thefollowing functions. SW developing and integrating lifecycle activity210 is adapted for defining a common structure for factory objects andservers. This common structure simplifies the formation of DFS/Fcompliant applications. Installing and administrating lifecycle activity220 installs MES applications. It is necessary to register thecapabilities of the MES applications with the DFS/F to make it possibleto integrate the MES applications jointly with the capabilities of otherapplications. Lifecycle activity 220 also monitors and controls thesoftware comprising the factory's MES. Additionally, it regulates accessto MES capabilities, providing a common security service. Factorymodeling lifecycle activity 230 is adapted for coordinating theformation of a consistent factory model in multiple manufacturingrelated applications. For example, the introduction of a new producttypically requires changes in multiple applications, such as adding theproduct in both a WIP (work in progress) application and in a planningapplication. Lifecycle activity 230 is also adapted for defining themanner in which multiple applications will work together, for exampledefining how a WIP application and an equipment application can operatetogether to ensure that the correct equipment is used to manufacture agiven product. SW of factory modeling lifecycle activity 230 is adaptedfor planning, controlling and tracking the manufacturing once a model ofthe factory's MES functions has been built by using factory modelingrelated SW.

[0043] Manufacturing planning lifecycle activity 240, depicted in FIG.6, gathers status information from multiple applications in order toprovide a planning application component. Additionally, lifecycleactivity 240 develops and distributes manufacturing plans/schedules tothe application components which manage the factory resources.Manufacturing controlling, monitoring and tracking lifecycle activity250 is provided to coordinate the functioning of manufacturingapplication components in the execution of the manufacturingplan/schedule, to produce products according to the steps which aredefined in the factory model. Analyzing manufacturing results lifecycleactivity 260 is adapted for combining information from applicationcomponents for analysis. It correlates data in different applicationcomponents for data analysis and defines, detects and responds tospecific factory events. This lifecycle activity is adapted forcomparing actual production with planned production and indicating whenan updated plan is needed through inputs to SW developing andintegrating lifecycle activity 210, factory modeling lifecycle activity230, and/or manufacturing planning lifecycle activity 240. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, feedback loops from lifecycle activity 260 tothese lifecycle activities form FALC 200 feedback cycles as follows.Feedback from lifecycle activity 260 to lifecycle activity 210 forms aSW developing cycle 270 while feedback from lifecycle activity 260 tolifecycle activity 280 provides a modeling cycle 280. An executing cycle290 is formed in the feedback loop from lifecycle activity 260 tolifecycle activity 240. While the six lifecycle activities of novel FALC200 have been depicted and described in a sequential manner, it will beunderstood that the SW associated with each of these lifecycleactivities typically proceeds concurrently with one or more of the otherlifecycle activities. FALC 200 of the present invention described aboveis one facet of novel DFS/F. Two other facets of DFS/F arc defined as:system layers and N tiers. The system layers aspect of novel DFS/F isdescribed in Table 1.

Table I DFS/F System Layers

[0044] 1. Base Technology

[0045] This includes the basic technology building blocks for DFS/F suchas messaging, graphical user interface (GUI) construction, use of forexample NITS (Microsoft transaction manager) for server construction,and mapping objects to a relational database for persistence.

[0046] 2. Common Building Blocks

[0047] This includes common items such as user-defined attributes,versioning, history and classification schemes. Typical common buildingblocks are listed and described in Table II.

[0048] 3. Framework Components

[0049] FW components manage the overall operation of the factory systemthrough the process of building a factory model, manufacturing productsaccording to the model, and then assessing the outcome to determine theneed for improvements. FALC 200 includes these components. Typical FWcomponents are listed and described in Table III.

[0050] 4. Application Components

[0051] These components comprise factory resource managementfunctionality, such as material management, equipment management andtool integration such as VFEI (virtual factory equipment interface)level communications with tools. Typical application components arelisted and described in Table IV.

[0052] The common building blocks of the novel DFS/F are typicallyutilized to form or modify FW and application components. Representativebuilding blocks are shown in Table II.

Table II Common Building Blocks

[0053] 1. Server construction building block which includes interfacingbetween server API (application programming interface) and factoryobject instantiation to (construction of an object instance).

[0054] 2. Persistence building block for generating object to SQL/ODBC(structure query language/open DB connection) mapping.

[0055] 3. DFS/F common GUI controls building block to provide the commoncontrols for the construction of the GUIs.

[0056] 4. Publish and subscribe messaging building block for publishsubscribe messaging, which differs from synchronous DCOM messaging.

[0057] 5. Dynamic API discovery building block used by FW components todiscover services provided by DFS/F components.

[0058] 6. Associations building block to connect objects across DFS/Fcomponents. Representative uses include linking modeling data to answer“where used” questions and linking MES execution information, such asquality data, to equipment history.

[0059] 7. History building block to provide a common service to storeand retrieve the history of factory events.

[0060] 8. Generic service executor building block to execute thedifferent types of DFS/F services including: (1) synchronous services,(2) long running services which are implemented through a completioncallback protocol and (3) GUI based services that are implementedthrough a link between other services and a target computer desktop.

[0061] 9. Classifications building block which provides a common serviceto classify factory objects for queries and analysis.

[0062] 10. Customer defined attributes building block for extending theDFS/F component based object models. DFS/F typically provides userextensible attribute models which support expansion of the model basedon the user's needs.

[0063] 11. State models building block includes a service to define andthen operate state models, such as tracking states for equipment,material and ECNs (engineering change notice). A state model buildingblock can be defined such that it tracks unplanned downtime of thevarious chambers of a cluster tool.

[0064] 12. Namespace building block defines management areas withinDFS/F data models.

[0065] 13. Schedule/datebook building block to support scheduling andadd the capability for each factory object to have a datebook showingfuture events and history enhancements to indicate how a particularschedule was followed.

[0066] 14. Templates building block provides services to define basedefinitions that can be shared among factory objects. For example, thisbuilding block can be used to define common characteristics for allmemory products.

[0067] 15. Versioned objects building block includes services to manageand track changes in factory model objects over time, e.g. for examplemanaging and tracking changes in the definition of a particular productover time.

[0068] 16. Navigation building block to view the relationship betweenfactory objects such as a material lot history.

[0069] FW components utilized in novel FALC 200 define common rules andservices which are utilized by application components, see Table IV,through steps in the FALC 200. Examples of suitable FW components arcprovided in table III.

Table III Framework Components

[0070] 1. SC (security component) provides basic security having 3security modes: (1) defining user roles, (2) assigning users to rolesand (3) defining access to DFS/F objects and methods by role.

[0071] 2. GCC (GUI console component) is a container supportingnavigation and showing of data between DFS/F GUIs. Custom and/or thirdparty applications can be added to the console toolbar. A customenvironment can be created by adding GUIs and factory objects. Theconsole can include a transaction view, i.e. full screen, cascade, tileand icons. A GUI console navigator allows browsing and selecting DFS/Ffactory objects and has search capability based on server-suppliedsearch criteria. For example, it provides navigation and data sharingbetween ActiveX GUIs.

[0072] 3. PLMC (performance & license management component) for trackingand regulating system usage of components.

[0073] 4. SMC (saga management component) provides support for “longrunning” transactions that should be treated as a unit but take too longto rely on standard DB locking techniques.

[0074] 5. CRC (context resolution component) aids in MES execution bylinking context to results, insuring that the appropriate instructionsare delivered to any resource by allowing users to flexibly model howresource selections are made.

[0075] 6. CMC (configuration management component) provides themanagement of factory model changes across components.

[0076] 7. CC (calendar component) provides calendar and shiftdefinitions for scheduling and reporting.

[0077] 8. VWC (visual workflow component) defines and executesmanufacturing processes and is capable of executing predeterminedbusiness processes. V WC defines business processes graphically as asequence/network of service invocations from a palette of DFS/Fservices. Other DFS/F components utilize the VWC for processdefinitions. For example, the WIP management 15 component uses VWCservices to define how products are produced and uses it to execute theprocessing of material lots. VWC process definition capability includesthe exchange of data between service invocations and control structuresto determine/select the path(s) through predefined business processes.VWC is adapted for executing business processes autonomously, i.e.functioning independently of other SW components, and is capable ofresponding to automated inputs as well as to user inputs.

[0078] 9. RCC (resource coordination component) is responsible forhaving active resources available at dispatch stations. Matchesresources to common jobs/batches employing BRC. Together with BRC itcoordinates rendezvous of active and passive resources.

[0079] 10. EVMC (event monitor component) monitors/subscribes to eventspublished by DFS/F services. A DFS/F service can be executed (includinglaunching a VWC job) when a monitored event occurs. EVMC supportsvigilant manufacturing through the creation of factory monitors.

[0080] 11. BRC (bill of resources component) establishes the resourcesacross multiple DFS/F components needed to launch a batch process, i.e.a batch process involving the coordinated action of multiple resources.

[0081] 12. DMC (data manager component) consolidates data from FWcomponents and application components for reporting and analysis. It isbased on DW (data warehouse) technology and can provide sample DW starschema and reports. DMC can access DBs for unstructured data analysis.

[0082] Application components provide the MES instructions tomanufacturing equipment to manage and control specific tools andprocesses. Examples of suitable application components are described inTable IV.

Table IV Application Components

[0083] 1. QMC (quality management component) provides quality analysisand flexible data collection. It is able to determine correctivemanufacturing tactics in order to ensure conformance to predeterminedbusiness rules.

[0084] 2. TIC (tool integration component) providing two waycommunications between DFS/F and diverse equipment types. It is adaptedfor communicating through tool protocols such as SECS(SEMI—Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International—EquipmentCommunication Standard), GEM (generic equipment model) and VFEI (virtualfactory equipment interface). SECS, GEM and VFEI are tool protocolswhich are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0085] 3. EMC (equipment management component) resolves the differentequipment states in SEMI E10 states, using a novel hierarchical model totrack individual 30 tools in chambers in cluster tools.

[0086] 4. RMC (recipe management component) providing definition,selection and distribution of recipes to equipment such as fab tools.

[0087] 5. DSC (dispatching and scheduling component) for scheduling anddispatching of factory tasks including processing and maintenance.

[0088] 6. MHC (material handling component) for interfacing withmaterials handling equipment.

[0089] 7. WMC (WIP—work in progress—management component) is provided tosupport tracking of wafers, lots, batches and carrier, supportingproactive business decisions for example: “if, then”. WIP offers clustertool visibility and control thereby providing MES to wafer lots insidethe cluster tool.

[0090] 8. Legacy system interface which is a component to accessexisting factory software.

[0091] A third facet of DFS/F of the present invention comprises thevarious tiers which can be present in the FW components, applicationcomponents and common building blocks. For example, this can be a 3 tierfacet as follows. A first tier includes clients using services fromother SW programs or components, e.g. visual WF jobs, GUIs and customerprograms, such as VB (virtual Basic). A second tier comprisesapplication or FW servers using for example MTS/DCOM to communicateDOOM. A third tier includes a DB engine, such as Oracle using an ODB(open database connectivity) interface. All DFS/F components employthese three tiers, while common building blocks can be used in one ormore of these tiers depending on the structure and function of thebuilding block.

[0092] FW components are associated with various lifecycle activities ofFALC 200. Representative examples of these associations are shown inTable IV. TABLE V FW Components Associated With FALC 200 lifecycleactivities FALC 200 lifecycle FW Component 220 SC, GCC, PLMC, SMC 230CRC, CMC, CC 250 VWC, RCC, EVMC, BRC 260 DMC

[0093] FW components of an FALC of the present invention, such as FALC200, are adapted for interacting with each other, thereby workingtogether. For example, a factory model can be revised as illustrated inFIG. 7, by utilizing an exchange of messages to between a GCC (GUIconsole component) 310, a CMC (configuration management component) 312and a VWC (visual workflow component) 314. Changes in the factory modelare collected to form an ECN (engineering change notice) in a CMC suchas CMC 312 depicted in FIG. 7. The ECN is opened 316 (FIG. 7) to collectthe changes in the factory model. The resulting ECN data 318 areemployed by GCC 310 during the editing of the VWC workflow 320. Theworkflow is displayed and edited through a GUI 322 contained within GCC310. The changed VWC workflow is returned to VWC in step 324, and VWC314 then adds the changed workflow to the CMC ECN in step 326.

[0094] Any application component of the novel DFS/F can participate inthe DFS/F by implementing the needed services from the appropriate FWcomponents, thereby forming a plug and play type of SW framework, as isschematically illustrated in FIG. 8, employing FW or application serversworking together through exchanges of messages. As shown in FIG. 8, FWcomponents using FW component servers for CMC 410, VWC 412, DMC 414, EMC416, GCC 418 and SC 419 use common service protocols to provide servicesto application components using application component servers for EMC420, WMC 422, DSC 424, QMC 426, TIC 428 and gateway component 429. Theseservices communicate through common service protocols 430 using forexample DCOM communications. This SW technique of the present inventionenables a user to modify processing and equipment MES instructionsthrough data inputs rather than coding thus eliminating the need fortime consuming programming changes requiring specialized skills. Theapplication components require effective communications with integratedpieces of equipment such as wafer fab tools and materials handlingequipment in order to execute the MES instructions to the controllers ofwafer fab tools and/or other equipment. Typical controllers includeprocessors for example micro processors such as on-board computers,computer operated software and mechanical/electrical controllers such asswitches and electrical circuits employing for example a variableresistor such as a potentiometer.

[0095] DFS/F of the present invention includes a novel TIC applicationcomponent (Table IV) for facilitating communications between variousDFS/F components and equipment, such as wafer fab tools, by providingthe basic equipment control building blocks which can be assembled in aVWC (Table III) workflow to control a machine. TIC provides serviceswhich include sending and receiving VFEI messages or commands to andfrom equipment. A sequence of these commands or messages represents abusiness logic such as commands to control a tool. These types ofsequences can be defined in a VWC workflow. TIC provides the buildingblocks which are used to send commands or messages to a tool and toreceive messages or information from the tool, and to communicate thereceived messages or information to other DFS/F components. TIC is partof the communications link between DFS/F and equipment such as wafer fabtools.

[0096] TIC of the present invention comprises a novel combination of aTIP (tool interface program) and a novel TIC adapter. TIP is providedfor each machine or tool type to translate VFEI commands or messages toan interface, such as SECS, of a machine and its controls such ascontrol SW. Equipment which is adapted for communicating with novelDFS/F will have a TIP instance, i.e. a SW process dedicated to theequipment, running as an intermediary between the equipment and theDFS/F. An example of a suitable communication protocol between a TIPinstance for a machine and DFS/F is a VFEI on DCOM protocol.Additionally it is contemplated to provide a novel VFEI+ on DOOMprotocol wherein VFEI+ will include enhancements for administration, formodeling and for the RPC (remote procedure call) nature of DCOM. It iscontemplated to distribute TIP on several computers, for example wherethese computers are utilized in computer integrated wafer fab toolsemploying TIP SW.

[0097] A TIC adapter of the present invention is an intermediary betweenDFS/F and TIPS for example by allowing other DFS/F components to accesstool capabilities through generalized commands which the adapter thenadapts to the needs of the tool's specific TIP instances. This isillustrated in the following example for collecting measurements using ametrology tool in a wafer fab having different tools available forcollecting the measurements. These novel techniques are adapted forembedding the collection process in a VWC WF which then enables a user,such as a process technician or engineer, to send identical measurementrequests to TIC. The TIC adapter then translates the request into toolspecific VFEI requests based on the particular tool which is selected atrun time. These techniques of the present invention are capable ofdefining for example a single QMC (quality management component) datacollection plan which can then be used for different tools collectingthe same types of data, because the TIC adapter can translate the todata parameter names from the generic name in the QMC plan to thespecific names required by specific equipment types or tools.

[0098] Advantageously, a TIC adapter can also perform a protocolconversion between DFS/F style communications and the TIPs. This is auseful function because many DFS/F components are constructed using NITSand are designed to be transactional and stateless. For example, DFS/Fservers both request and process services are either “synchronous”, i.e.services that are expected to be completed within a predictably shortcompletion time of one second or less, and services that are consideredlong running and that use an LRSP (long running service protocol). Asdefined herein, the term “long running service” includes services havinga completion time which cannot be predicted and which are thusunsuitable for DB locking techniques which are typically employed inconnection with conventional services, such as synchronous services. Itis contemplated to process the service by an MTS based server using arelatively short lived MTS thread and wherein any longer term state issaved in a DB. It is also contemplated that service requests can bebased on a DCOM RPC style model, where a service is requested which isthen followed by a returned reply The TIC adapter is an intermediarybetween DFS/F and TIPS.

[0099] An example of a novel TIC is illustrated in FIG. 9, showing anovel DFS IF 500 including TIC 520 of the present invention. In thepresent example, a distributed computer 3o having nodes A, B and C wasused. DFS/F components 510 communicated with fab tools 538 and 548 bymeans of TIC 520. MES instructions for tools 538 and 548 were sent bycomponents 510 to novel TIC adapter 522 of TIC 520. For example,instructions for starting the processing of a material can becommunicated from a DFS/F component 510, such as a VWC workflow, to tool538 through TIC 520. The TIC adapter was accessed through an MTS serveron node A. The instructions for tool 538 were communicated from TICadapter 522, through a VFEI protocol on DCOM 532, to a TIP instance 534on node B. TIP instance 534 then communicated these instructions to tool538 using SECS protocol 536 of tool 538. Similarly, the instructions fortool 548 were communicated from TIC adapter 522 to a TIP instance 544 onnode C, through a VFEI protocol on DCOM 542. TIP instance 544communicated the instructions to tool 548 using SECS protocol 546 oftool 548. Also a DB (not shown) can be provided which can be accessed byTIC adapter 522 to store and retrieve TIC data such as the networklocations of specific TIPS, to using such methods and techniques as arewell known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0100] TICS of the present invention employ Microsoft DCOM messagingtechnology to send messages between DFS/F components of the presentinvention and a TIC adapter, and between a TIC adapter and toolinterface program instances according to the present invention. A TICadapter is constructed using common building blocks of the presentinvention such as those described in Table II. An inventive TIC adaptercan be constructed using a Microsoft transaction server. The adapter iscapable of simultaneously managing messages from many DFS/F componentsand many TIP instances. A TIC adapter of the present invention iscapable of saving information such as pending event requests, i.e. theinstruction to a TIP regarding a request that a tool should report aparticular status or operating event. The information can for example besaved using Oracle database technology using such techniques as are wellknown to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0101]FIG. 10 shows a sequence of messages front a VWC 610 executing abusiness process which is defined in a VWC WF, to a TIC adapter 612 andthen on to a TIP instance 614. This TIP instance includes a toolinterface program for interfacing with processing equipment (not shown)such as a wafer fab tool for manufacturing an integrated circuitstructure. The VWC business process sends an instruction to TIC adapter612, requesting an event setup 616 which is a request for reporting anequipment event, for example reporting the completion of a waferfabrication process. The event setup request is then routed 618 to TIPinstance 614, which is subsequently acknowledged 620 to V WC 610. V WCthen requests an event report 622 concerning the event setup requestfrom TIC adapter 612. Event report request 622 is acknowledged in step624. When the requested event occurs on the equipment, a reportconcerning the event is communicated 626 from TIP instance 614 to TICadapter 612, which then checks to determine if there is a pending reportrequest. When there is a pending report request, such as request 622,TIC adapter 612 delivers the requested report 628 to the VWC WF andacknowledges delivery 630 of the event report to TIP instance 614.Optionally, the VWC business WF can execute a loop requesting additionalevent reports. Once the requested reports are received from the tool,the loop terminates and VWC WF will send a concluding command to TIC tonotify the tool, via its TIP, that the requested event reports should nolonger be sent. It will be noted that TIP instance 614 might need aprotocol such as SECS (not shown) in order to communicate with theequipment.

[0102] As shown in the above examples, application components such asTIC, communicate with and utilize FW components such as VWC (Table III).Additionally, a particular FW component can communicate with another FWcomponent and utilize its services. For example, all FW components canuse the common security FW component to regulate access to the serviceswhich these FW components provide, as is illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0103] Plug and play capabilities of a VWC are illustrated for exampleby WFs wherein the VWC is a technique for defining a business process asa WE which is subsequently executed as a job. WFs are graphicalrepresentations of business processes defined for manufacturing aproduct such as a semiconductor structure typically including manyprocessing steps, equipment steps, movement steps, decision steps anddata steps. Each of these steps is defined as a step in a WF. WFs caninclude movements, decisions, quality activities and equipment commands.WFs are built using drag and drop techniques in a computer graphicalenvironment using techniques which are well known to those or ordinaryskill in the art. Once defined, a WF is executed as a job. For example,a VF can be executed to create a lot of a product.

[0104] DFS/F of the present invention can be utilized to startproduction, such as a wafer fab run, by means of the WIP managementapplication component (Table IV) as follows. A user, such as a processengineer, defines how a particular product is made by creating a WF inVWC that defines the sequence of steps needed to make the product. Thissequence can for example include a wafer fab recipe. The user thenstarts the lot by using the WIP management application component serviceor GUI requesting VWC to start the WF for the lot. In summary, WIP usesVMC as a service for defining the processing steps and subsequently foractually manufacturing/fabricating production lots.

[0105] Building blocks provide common functionality to the novel DFS/Ftechniques to facilitate the construction of application and FWcomponents. For example, a DFS/F classification building block (TableII) can be used in the EMC application component (Table IV) to classifyequipment. It can also be used in the WIP management applicationcomponent (Table IV) to classify products. This building block includesthe three DFS/F tiers. A first tier uses a DFS/F GUI within the GCC toview and modify or update classification information. A second tierincludes SW code/logic that is provided in the component server, such asEMC or WMC servers. This particular SW defines how the classificationsare specified. For example, this SW enables a user to classify aparticular wafer fab tool as an etcher. The classification buildingblock SW is used in the component servers through for example a C++inheritance capability, i.e. the capability to pass resources orattributes from component servers down to the specifics of a particularproduct, process or machine. A third tier comprises a DB tabledefinition that is employed by the component server logic for storingand retrieving classification information.

[0106] Digitally coded data structures or information of novel DFS/F orits components and building blocks can be stored on a removableelectronic data storage medium or device, such as computer floppy disks,removable computer hard disks, magnetic tapes and optical disks, tofacilitate the use of the same technique at different processinglocations. Alternatively, the data structure or information can bestored on a non-removable electronic data storage medium, including amedium positioned at a location which is remote from the tool, usingsuch storage devices as are well known to those of ordinary skill in theart. The data structures or information can be communicated from aremote location to a central data processing unit or to a computer usingcommunications techniques which are well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art including hard wire connections, wireless connectionsand data communications methods utilizing one or more modems ortechniques using one or more computers commonly known as servers. OnceDSF/F or its components or building blocks are installed, they arecommonly stored in a data storage device or memory of a dedicatedcomputer or a distributed computer system which is integrated with theprocessing system and its equipment, using such data storage techniquesas are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0107] It is contemplated to provide novel products comprising digitallycoded data structures or information of novel DFS/F or its components orbuilding blocks, stored in memory such as a removable electronic datastorage medium or device. It is also contemplated to provide a novelcomputer integrated apparatus having a memory or data storage device forstorage of electronic or digital data, a central processing unit or acomputer, and processing equipment wherein DFS/F or its components orbuilding blocks are stored in the data storage device.

[0108] The invention has been described in terms of the preferredembodiment. One skilled in the art will recognize that it would bepossible to construct the elements of the present invention from avariety of means and to modify the placement of components in a varietyof ways. While the embodiments of the invention have been described indetail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident thatvarious further modifications are possible without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for defining a computer implemented factoryautomation lifecycle, the method comprising: a) Defining, installing andadministrating lifecycle activity framework components; b) definingfactory modeling lifecycle activity framework components; and C)defining manufacturing controlling, monitoring and tracking lifecycle toactivity framework components.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindefining administrating lifecycle activity framework componentscomprises defining one or more framework components selected from thegroup consisting of a security component, a GUI console component, aperformance and license management component and a saga managementcomponent.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein defining factory modelinglifecycle activity framework components comprises defining one or moreframework components selected from the group consisting of a contextresolution component, a configuration management component and acalendar component.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein definingmanufacturing controlling, monitoring and tracking lifecycle activityframework components comprises defining one or more framework componentsselected from the group consisting of a visual workflow component, aresource coordination component, an event monitor component and a billof resources component.
 5. The method of claim 1 additionally comprisinga method for defining one or more analyzing of manufacturing resultslifecycle activity framework components.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein defining one or more analyzing of manufacturing resultslifecycle activity framework components comprises defining a datamanager component.
 7. The method of claim 5 additionally defining amethod for defining interactions between the one or more manufacturingresults lifecycle activity framework components and components selectedfrom the group consisting of factory modeling lifecycle activityframework components.
 8. The method of claim 1 additionally defining aSW developing and integrating lifecycle activity.
 9. The method of claim1 additionally defining a manufacturing planning lifecycle activity. 10.The method of claim 1 wherein defining a factory automation lifecyclecomprises defining a factory automation lifecycle for processing anintegrated circuit structure.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereindefining a factory automation life-cycle additionally comprises definingframework components such that the framework components are adapted forcommunicating with a tool integration component, wherein the frameworkcomponents are selected from the group consisting of installing andadministrating lifecycle activity framework components, factory modelinglifecycle activity framework components, and manufacturing controlling,monitoring and tracking lifecycle activity framework components.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 wherein defining manufacturing controlling,monitoring and tracking lifecycle activity components comprises defininga visual workflow component.
 13. A method for managing a processingsystem including one or more computers, the method comprising: a)running a factory automation lifecycle including one or more frameworksoftware components by means of the one or more computers; b) runningone or more application software components to provide one or morecomputer implemented instructions for managing the system, wherein theone or more framework components are adapted for managing theapplication components; c) determining whether the one or moreinstructions need to be modified; d) communicating the one or moreinstructions to the system, if the instructions do not need to bemodified; e) modifying the instructions if they need to be modified, bymeans of the one or more framework components thereby forming modifiedinstructions; and f) communicating the modified instructions to thesystem.
 14. The method of claim 13 additionally comprising managing theprocessing system by executing the one or more instructions in thesystem.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein running one or more of theframework components comprises running one or more components selectedfrom the group consisting of a security component, a GUI consolecomponent, a performance and license management component, a sagamanagement component, a context resolution component, a configurationmanagement component, a calendar component, a visual workflow component,a resource coordination component, an event monitor component, a bill ofresources component and a data manager component.
 16. The method ofclaim 13 wherein running one or more application components comprisesrunning one or more components selected from the group consisting of aquality management component, a tool integration component, an equipmentmanagement component, a recipe management component, a dispatching andscheduling component, a material handling component, a work in progresscomponent and a legacy system interface component.
 17. The method ofclaim 13 wherein communicating comprises communicating by means of atool integration component.
 18. The method of claim 17 whereincommunicating comprises communicating by means of: a) a tool interfaceprogram; and b) a tool integration component adapter.
 19. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the one or more computer implemented instructions arevisual framework component instructions.
 20. The method of claim 13,additionally comprising forming one or more framework components bymeans of one or more software building blocks selected from the groupconsisting of a server construction building block, a persistencebuilding block, a common GUI controls building block, a publish andsubscribe messaging building block, a dynamic API discovery buildingblock, an associations building block, a history building block, ageneric service executor building block, a classifications buildingblock, a customer defined attributes building block, a state modelsbuilding block, a namespace building block, a schedule/datebook buildingblock, a templates building block, a versioned objects building blockand a navigation building block.
 21. The method of claim 13 whereinrunning one or more framework components additionally comprisescommunicating a data structure of the one or more framework component toa data structure of the one or more components selected from the groupconsisting of framework components and application components.
 22. Themethod of claim 13, wherein modifying the instructions comprisesinputting data.
 23. The method of claim 13 wherein managing a processingsystem comprises managing a system for processing an integrated circuitstructure.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the system comprises oneor more wafer fabrication tools.
 25. A method for linking a softwareframework to an apparatus, the method comprising linking by means of atool integration component including: a) a tool interface program; andb) a tool integration component adapter.
 26. The method of claim 25wherein linking comprises exchanging messages between: a) the one ormore framework components; b) the tool integration component adapter;and c) the tool interface program.
 27. The method of claim 26 whereinthe one or more framework components comprise a visual workflowcomponent.
 28. A method for processing a product, the method comprising:a) determining specifications for processing the product; and b)managing the processing by means of a distributed factory systemframework including: (1) a factory automated lifecycle having one ormore framework components and (2) one or more application componentswherein the framework components are adapted for managing theapplication components.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein managingadditionally comprises: a) determining whether the distributed factorysystem framework needs to be modified in order to meet thespecifications; and b) modifying one or more of the applicationcomponents if the distributed factory system framework needs to bemodified.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein modifying comprisesinputting data.
 31. The method of claim 28 wherein managing additionallycomprises forming one or more framework components by means of one ormore software building blocks.
 32. The method of claim 28 whereinmanaging additionally comprises: a) forming one or more computerimplemented instructions for managing, by means of the one or moreapplication components; b) communicating the one or more instructions toequipment for processing the product; and c) executing the one or moreinstructions on the equipment.
 33. The method of claim 32 whereincommunicating comprises communicating by means of a tool integrationcomponent, wherein the tool integration component comprises: (1) a toolintegration component adapter and (2) a tool interface program.
 34. Themethod of claim 28 wherein processing a product comprises processing anintegrated circuit structure.
 35. A method for starting a wafer fab run,the method comprising: a) determining a sequence of processing steps forprocessing the wafer fab run; b) forming a workflow defining thesequence, in a visual workflow component which is included in adistributed factory system framework having: (1) framework componentsand (2) application components; and c) requesting the visual workflowcomponent to start the run by means of a service which is a work inprogress management component or a GUI within a GUI console component.36. An apparatus for processing a product, the apparatus comprising: a)product processing equipment; b) at least one central processing unitfor electronic data processing; c) a link for operably linking thecentral processing unit to the product processing equipment; d) a memoryfor storing digitally coded data structures, wherein the memory isoperably linked to the at least one central processing unit; and e) adigitally coded first data structure stored in the memory wherein thedata structure comprises a factory automation lifecycle including: (1)administrating lifecycle activity framework components, (2) factorymodeling lifecycle activity framework components, and (3) manufacturing10 controlling and tracking lifecycle activity framework components. 37.The apparatus of claim 36, Wherein the administrating lifecycle activityframework components comprise one or more framework components selectedfrom the group consisting of a security component, a GUI consolecomponent, a performance and license management component and a sagamanagement component.
 38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the factorymodeling lifecycle activity framework components comprise one or moreframework components selected from the group consisting of a contextresolution component, a configuration management component and acalendar component.
 39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein themanufacturing controlling and tracking lifecycle activity frameworkcomponents comprise one or more framework components selected from thegroup consisting of a visual workflow component, a resource coordinationcomponent, an event monitor component and a bill of resources component.40. The apparatus of claim 36 additionally comprising one or moreanalyzing of manufacturing results lifecycle activity frameworkcomponents.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the one or moreanalyzing of manufacturing results lifecycle activity frameworkcomponents comprise a data manager component.
 42. The apparatus of claim36 additionally comprising a digitally coded second data structureincluding application components, wherein the first data structure isadapted for managing the second data structure.
 43. The apparatus ofclaim 42 additionally comprising a digitally coded third data structureincluding software building blocks for forming one or more of theframework components.
 44. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the firstdata structure comprises: a) a digitally coded fourth data structureincluding a GUI console component; and b) a digitally coded fifth datastructure including a configuration management component.
 45. Theapparatus of claim 44, wherein the fourth and fifth data structures areadapted for interacting.
 46. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the linkcomprises a tool integration component including: (1) a tool integrationcomponent adapter and (2) a tool interface program
 47. The apparatus ofclaim 36 comprising an apparatus for processing an integrated circuitstructure.
 48. An apparatus for processing a product, the apparatuscomprising: a) product processing equipment; b) at least one centralprocessing unit for electronic data processing; c) a link for operablylinking the central processing unit to the product processing equipment;d) a memory for storing digitally coded data structures, wherein thememory is operably linked to the at least one central processing unit;and e) a distributed factory system framework for managing the productprocessing, the distributed factory system framework comprising: (1) adigitally coded first data structure comprising a factory automationlifecycle including digitally coded framework components, (2) adigitally coded second data structure comprising application componentsadapted for communicating digitally coded instructions to the processingequipment, wherein the first data structure is adapted for managing thesecond data structure and (3) a link for communicating the digitallycoded instructions to the processing equipment.
 49. The apparatus ofclaim 48 comprising an apparatus for processing an integrated circuitstructure.
 50. A distributed factory system framework for managing aprocessing system, the distributed factory system framework comprising:a) a digitally coded first data structure comprising digitally codedframework components; b) a digitally coded second data structurecomprising application components adapted for communicating digitallycoded instructions to the processing system, wherein the first datastructure is adapted for managing the second data structure; and c) alink for communicating the digitally coded instructions to theprocessing system.
 51. The distributed factory system framework of claim50 wherein the framework components comprise one or more componentsselected from the group consisting of a security component, a GUIconsole component, a performance and license management component, asaga management component, a context resolution component, aconfiguration management component, a calendar component, a visualworkflow component, a resource coordination component, an event monitorcomponent, a bill of resources component and a data manager component.52. The distributed factory system framework of claim 50 wherein theapplication components comprise one or more components selected from thegroup consisting of a quality management component, a tool integrationcomponent, an equipment management component, a recipe managementcomponent, a dispatching and scheduling component, a material handlingcomponent, a work in progress component and a legacy system interfacecomponent.
 53. The distributed factory system framework of claim 50wherein the link comprises a fourth data structure including a toolintegration component.
 54. The distributed factory system framework ofclaim 53 wherein the fourth data structure comprises: a) a toolinterface program fifth data structure; and b) a tool integrationcomponent adapter sixth data structure.
 55. The distributed factorysystem framework of claim 50, additionally comprising one or moresoftware building blocks selected from the group consisting of a serverconstruction building block, a persistence building block, a common GUIcontrols building block, a publish and subscribe messaging buildingblock, a dynamic API discovery building block, an associations buildingblock, a history building block, a generic service executor buildingblock, a classifications building block, a customer defined attributesbuilding block, a state models building block, a namespace buildingblock, a schedule/datebook building block, a templates building block, aversioned objects building block and a navigation building block.
 56. Adata storage device comprising a digitally coded first data structureincluding a factory automation lifecycle having: a) administratinglifecycle activity framework components; b) factory modeling lifecycleactivity framework components; and c) manufacturing controlling andtracking lifecycle activity framework components.
 57. The device ofclaim 56, wherein the administrating lifecycle activity frameworkcomponents comprise one or more framework components selected from thegroup consisting of a security component, a GUI console component, aperformance and license management component and a saga managementcomponent.
 58. The device of claim 56, wherein the factory modelinglifecycle activity framework components comprise one or more frameworkcomponents selected from the group consisting of a context resolutioncomponent, a configuration management component and a calendarcomponent.
 59. The device of claim 56, wherein the manufacturingcontrolling and tracking lifecycle activity framework componentscomprise one or more framework components selected from the groupconsisting of a visual workflow component, a resource coordinationcomponent, an event monitor component and a bill of resources component.60. The device of claim 56 additionally comprising one or more analyzingof manufacturing results lifecycle activity framework components. 61.The device of claim 60, wherein the one or more analyzing ofmanufacturing results lifecycle activity framework components comprise adata manager component.
 62. The device of claim 56 comprising aplurality of framework components which are adapted for interacting witha GUI console framework component.
 63. The device of claim 56additionally comprising a digitally coded second data structureincluding application components, wherein the first data structure isadapted for managing the second data structure.
 64. The device of claim63 additionally comprising a digitally coded third data structureincluding software building blocks for forming one or more of theframework components.
 65. The device of claim 64 wherein the first,second and third data structures are adapted for processing anintegrated circuit structure.
 66. A data storage device comprising: a) adigitally coded first data structure comprising a factory automationlifecycle including digitally coded framework components; and b) adigitally coded second data structure comprising application components,wherein the first data structure is adapted for modifying the seconddata structure.
 67. The device of claim 66 wherein the frameworkcomponents comprise one or more components selected from the groupconsisting of a security component, a GUI console component, aperformance and license management component, a saga managementcomponent, a context resolution component, a configuration managementcomponent, a calendar component, a visual workflow component, a resourcecoordination component, an event monitor component, a bill of resourcescomponent and a data manager component.
 68. The device of claim 66wherein the application components comprise one or more componentsselected from the group consisting of a quality management component, atool integration component, an equipment management component, a recipemanagement component, a dispatching and scheduling component, a materialhandling component, a work in progress component and a legacy systeminterface component.
 69. The device of claim 66 additionally comprisinga digitally coded third data structure including one or more softwarebuilding blocks selected from the group consisting of a serverconstruction building block, a persistence building block, a common GUIcontrols building block, a publish and subscribe messaging buildingblock, a dynamic API discovery building block, an associations buildingblock, a history building block, a generic service executor buildingblock, a classifications building block, a customer defined attributesbuilding block, a state models building block, a namespace buildingblock, a schedule/datebook building block, a templates building block, aversioned objects building block and a navigation building block.